San Diego’s museums and cultural institutions are serving their communities during the shutdown with passion and creativity.
Whether you’re looking for educational resources to supplement home schooling, online lectures or events to break up the day, or fun DIY activities that kill boredom and inspire creativity, our member museums are offering resources and virtual experiences you can enjoy from home.
Check out some highlights below.
Barona Cultural Center and Museum
Offering a “Word of the Week” each Monday for viewers to enjoy at home, along with a “Want It Wednesday,” special pricing and free shipping on select store items.
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Virtual events, educational resources for kids and adults, live kelp cam, coloring and activity sheets and more.
https://aquarium.ucsd.edu/teachers/online-learning
Bonita Museum and Cultural Center
Explore the museum’s exhibitions virtually (including the annual student art exhibition and “Nuestra Frontera: South Bay Families at the Border”) with video tours and new content on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
http://www.bonitahistoricalsociety.org/
California Center for the Arts, Escondido
Enjoy creative activities for all ages, including “Crafts with Grace” for kids and “Virtual Craft + Sip” happy hour for adults (with signature cocktails perfectly paired with virtual craft tutorials led by different artists).
California Surf Museum
https://surfmuseum.org/exhibits/current-exhibits/
Coronado Historical Association and Coronado Museum
Never miss a day of history with Coronado’s “virtual museum,” featuring videos, field notes, archival photos, and other items from the collection.https://coronadohistory.org/blog/category/field-notes/
Fleet Science Center
New Fleet TV episodes weekly with fun science experiments and activities to enjoy at home.
https://www.rhfleet.org/fleettv
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
Virtual tour of museum’s collection, plus weekly online lectures with the museum’s curator.
http://flyingleathernecks.org/
Japanese Friendship Garden
Digital galleries of its various collections and exhibits, printable activity sheets, downloadable lesson plans and virtual programming.
La Jolla Historical Society
Follow on Facebook and Instagram for virtual tours, stories, photos and more.
Living Coast Discovery Center
“Living Coast in Your Living Room” (Monday-Friday at 11 AM), with virtual animal ambassadors, family-friendly workshops, crafts and storytimes. Downloadable coloring and activities sheets. Weekly virtual composting workshops.
http://www.thelivingcoast.org/virtual-wildlife-encounters
Lux Art Institute
Virtual tours of art exhibitions, live broadcasts diving deeper into the content and educational programs for adults and families to explore at home.
http://www.luxartinstitute.org/art-access/
Marston House Museum and Gardens
Online presentation of “Irving Gill: Progress & Poetry in Architecture,” a special exhibition commemorating the noted architect’s 150th birthday.
http://www.sohosandiego.org/exhibits/gill/gillindex.htm
Mingei International Museum
Virtual art workshops and family events and online gallery of museum’s collection.
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Online collection, Out and About social series and MCASD REACT mobile experience.
Museum of Making Music
“MoMM@Home,” a new series of live-streaming events with museum staff and guest musicians sharing their love of music.
http://www.museumofmakingmusic.org/
Museum of Photographic Arts
At-home experiences including weekly live-stream events, art talks and project ideas.
Oceanside Museum of Art
Virtual events, including lectures and workshops, at-home art projects, an online tour of museum’s Sidewalk Activism exhibition and a “Slow Art” experience.
https://oma-online.org/virtualoma/
San Diego Air & Space Museum
SDASM TV, featuring never-before-seen video footage from the archives, and SDASM Challenges on social media (Tuesdays and Thursdays) for families to complete at home.
http://sandiegoairandspace.org/
San Diego Archaeological Center
Free digital tours of the museum’s exhibits (using the Cuseum App), Dr. Arty Fax’s weekly kids’ blog and Dig Deeper monthly blog.
https://sandiegoarchaeology.org/museum-at-home/
San Diego Art Institute
Online viewing room for the museum’s current exhibition, Illumination: 21st Century Interactions with Art + Science + Technology, including sound installations and a downloadable version of our exhibition catalog.
https://www.sandiego-art.org/illumination-onli
San Diego Automotive Museum
Explore the museum virtually, including its current exhibition, “That 70s Car Show,” and follow along on social media for fun car facts, trivia games, behind-the-scenes videos and more.
http://sdautomuseum.org/exhibitions
San Diego Botanic Garden
Virtual walks in the Garden and downloadable activities for families to enjoy at home.
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
Daily videos including STREAM activities, storytime, arts and crafts, music and movement, world culture and other educational resources.
San Diego History Center
“Share Your Story” for the SDHC archives, oral history tutorial videos, kids’ activities and more.
http://sites.google.com/view/sdhc-learn-at-home/home
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
Free educational STEM and STEAM resources, interactive videos and fun activities such as quizzes, coloring sheets, word searches and Harvey Girls recipes for families and rail-fans alike.
http://www.sdmrm.org/teacher-student-resource
San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
Weekly storytimes, outdoor activities, lesson plans, behind-the-scenes glimpses, inspirational nature photography, and videos and blogs featuring the latest scientific research.
http://www.sdnhm.org/education/education-resources/
Save Our Heritage Organisation
Presenting the Presidio Park Plant Survey and encyclopedia as a resource for the current and future protection and restoration of Presidio Park’s historic landscape.
http://www.sohosandiego.org/presidio/index.htm
The New Children’s Museum
Creative resources on the website and social media for families to do at home – from hands-on DIY art activities and design challenges to printable coloring pages and toddler story-time.
http://thinkplaycreate.org/learn/creative-resources/
The San Diego Museum of Art
Virtual SDMA brings online content to visitors wherever they are, including weekly mini-podcasts; hands-on art education activities; downloadable lesson plans; self-guided tours on the SDMA app; lectures, talks and performances on YouTube; and recommended reading.
Timken Museum of Art
Online collection, Curator’s Corner video series and resources for teachers and families.
Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
Digital resources and activities for K-12 students to learn about coastal wetlands, weekly climate change webinars and links to visit California State Parks from the comfort and safety of home through the PORTS Home Learning Program.
http://trnerr.org/digital-resources-for-at-home-learning
USS Midway Museum
Virtual tours of the Midway’s most popular spaces and exhibits (including audio), kids’ activity sheets, documentary video series, written historical accounts and other educational resources.
http://www.midway.org/#midway-virtual-experience/
Visions Art Museum
Activities page with weekly “Stir Crazy” challenges, educational videos, coloring pages and links to galleries of current and past exhibitions.
https://visionsartmuseum.org/stircrazy/
Whaley House Museum
Print-and-go lesson plans, recipes, games and puzzles and educator resources for virtual field trips.
http://whaleyhouse.org/educators.htm
Follow the San Diego Museum Council and your favorite museums on social media in order to get the most up-to-date information on how you can be a museum-goer from your own home. #SDMuseumsAtHome
